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Topic: Ponderosa Pine transformation (Read 14095 times)

Hi, is to fun to have a guest who has developed a number of Kokufu award winning trees. Akio Kondo was visiting and was game tp take on a project or two. I had purchased this tree from Andy Smith 3 or 4 years ago, and had repotted it in 2007. The tree had a very nice base, great bark, and a very straight 3 inch trunk/branch sticking straight up from the nice base- a real project. This tree took a full day of work, a couple of engineering workarounds and here is the start and the final outcome. There are two possible fronts, the first is as it is presented now and the second may be better if the apex grows strongly. Anyway, the tee went from about 4' tall to about 34" tall.

John(Matsubonsai is off to the right in the first picture- sorry John)

Also, it is August and not the optimal time to do this kind of extreme work. The tree was placed under 30% shade, out of the wind and gets misted a couple of times a day. Also, the tree is not fertilized, it will not be fertilized until mid September or October.John

Hi John, thanks for sharing the before and after pictures - very nice work!

I have a Ponderosa I picked up from Oregon Bonsai with similar lower trunk movement and branches very similar to yours. I've been a bit baffled at how to work the tree, but after seeing these pictures, I have a bit of an idea of how to proceed. Thanks!

Alex, good luck in grad school. Ann Arbor is a place with tremendous tradition and talent.

When you do a transformation like this, and Akio really stressed this, as does Boon, you have to be patient. It will be three years before we can take the wire and raffia off- at least. Ponderosa's are extremely flexible which allows you to do this big bend in the first place. It also means that if the tree is not fully "set" in position, it will straighten out over time. You also have to be ready for the disappointment of a branch dying or a really necessary bud not taking off. I take these trees and set them well in the back, checking on them from time to time and not really fussing with them. In a couple of years I will start to work on the needles again, then will repot to get the tree more centered and eventually will take the contraption off and then the wire.

Alex, good luck in grad school. Ann Arbor is a place with tremendous tradition and talent.

When you do a transformation like this, and Akio really stressed this, as does Boon, you have to be patient. It will be three years before we can take the wire and raffia off- at least. Ponderosa's are extremely flexible which allows you to do this big bend in the first place. It also means that if the tree is not fully "set" in position, it will straighten out over time. You also have to be ready for the disappointment of a branch dying or a really necessary bud not taking off. I take these trees and set them well in the back, checking on them from time to time and not really fussing with them. In a couple of years I will start to work on the needles again, then will repot to get the tree more centered and eventually will take the contraption off and then the wire.

John

Go Blue!

John - have you noticed significant growth in your collected Ponderosas after repotting them into free draining soil and feeding/watering them (likely more feeding and watering than they received in their natural environment)? I ask because I saw one nice Ponderosa up at Nature's Way this spring that had pretty significant wire scarring in the apex. I didn't ask how long the wire had been on, but was wondering if Ponderosas push a lot of growth in the apex or elsewhere once they start living a pampered life of a tree in a pot (as opposed to the harsh mountains).

I was planning to wire one of my Ponderosas this fall or next spring. I've only had collected Ponderosas for about a year now and haven't noticed any appreciable growth in branch/trunk thickness, except to the extent that the needles have jumped from 2" on the old needles to about 4-6" on the new needles. My JBPs of course grow like weeds.

Three years seems to be a long time to keep wire on (and for me being a bit new to bonsai and Ponderosas, I would get worried about not being able to catch whether the wire is starting to bite in, particularly on portions of the trunk that are wrapped with raffia, etc.). Is there some technique to noticing if the wire is biting in through the raffia?

You have to watch the apex and branches with plenty of foliage and lots of growth. There actually is o wire on the bent sections of the trunk, it only has the vertical aluminum wired between the first and second layers of raffia. The branches that were raffia'd and wired are all now pointing down, which will slow their growth, will keep track but am not too worried. As with all trees, you need to check it to be sure it doesn't surprise you.

On your trees, I would try and work in the fall, before you get any of that early, tender, growth we isouth of theMason Dixon line frequently see on these babies.

Chris,He will be back in the states, hopefully you will be able to see him then. The tree was wrapped with raffia (very, very, tightly), 6 pieces of 5mm Aluminum wire was placed on the side of the tree on the outside of the bend, and then a second very tight layer of raffia was applied. Then big clamps and rebar and wood to force the bend.

You have to watch the apex and branches with plenty of foliage and lots of growth. There actually is o wire on the bent sections of the trunk, it only has the vertical aluminum wired between the first and second layers of raffia. The branches that were raffia'd and wired are all now pointing down, which will slow their growth, will keep track but am not too worried. As with all trees, you need to check it to be sure it doesn't surprise you.

On your trees, I would try and work in the fall, before you get any of that early, tender, growth we isouth of theMason Dixon line frequently see on these babies.

John

Thanks John - this is very helpful. I'm signed up for another Ponderosa workshop with Larry Jackel this October, so maybe I'll wire one of my older trees at the workshop, and let my new tree rest.

Speaking of wiring, do you use raffia on your Ponderosas? A member of my club recommends using those self-adhesive bandage tapes that you can get at CVS, saying that they are much easier to apply and they breathe. I tried using them last fall, and they were pretty easy to work with. The tape adheres to itself, but is not so sticky that it adheres very strongly to the bark of your tree. Do you have any thoughts on using that in lieu of raffia?

I use raffia. We have had this conversation with Boon and others a number of times, raffia consistently holds and does not stretch, which is essential for maintaining the structural integrity of the branch/trunk. Other folks may disagree, that is fine, we use raffia not plastic tape, not vet wrap, etc. You should use what works best for you.

I use raffia. We have had this conversation with Boon and others a number of times, raffia consistently holds and does not stretch, which is essential for maintaining the structural integrity of the branch/trunk. Other folks may disagree, that is fine, we use raffia not plastic tape, not vet wrap, etc. You should use what works best for you.

Have fun with Larry, he is a classy guy.John

Thanks John for all the help. Really appreciate it. Great trees - thanks for posting them.